From the Atlantic to the Black Sea: Local Relief and Rescue Operations on the Margins of the Holocaust
August 19–30, 2024
Washington, D.C.
The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum invites applications for the 2024 Jacob and Yetta Gelman International Research Workshop From the Atlantic to the Black Sea: Local Relief and Rescue Operations on the Margins of the Holocaust. The Mandel Center will co-convene this workshop with Gaëlle Fisher, Bielefeld University, and Sebastian Musch, University of Osnabrück. The workshop is scheduled for August 19–30, 2024, and will take place at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
In the last couple of decades, the role of non-governmental organizations and their relief and rescue activities for those seeking to flee Nazi-dominated Europe have received considerable scholarly attention. While the history of major global organizations—such as the World Jewish Congress and the International Committee of the Red Cross—has become integral to the study of the Holocaust, the decisive role of local actors in humanitarian operations has been neglected and, in many cases, overlooked entirely. With their distinct practical knowledge and connections, local actors often played a crucial role in relief and rescue for persecuted Jews, Roma, and others seeking to flee Nazi-dominated Europe. Navigating the space between highly specific local contexts and global politics, and filling the interstices between state actors and larger rescue and relief organizations, these individuals and groups proved to be skilled operators, with their own distinctive incentives, interests, and problems.
This workshop advances research on rescue and relief in World War II by foregrounding these smaller local actors and organizations, particularly in locations on the perimeters of the main theaters of the Holocaust and on the peripheries of power. We will consider a range of non-governmental actors and networks from the Atlantic to the Black Sea, from Lisbon to Helsinki to Tbilisi to Cairo, often small-scale and grassroots, organized from below and inhabiting the margins. How and why did they attempt to provide rescue and relief for those in danger of persecution, deportation, and extermination by Nazi Germany and its allies? What challenges and constraints, material, ideological, or otherwise, did they face? What were the stakes, priorities, and possibilities for such actors at the margins and how did they differ from those in what are often regarded as the epicenters of the Holocaust? What were the global dimensions and effects of this civilian activism during the Holocaust?
By linking the nascent field of humanitarian studies with the local turn in the study of the Holocaust, we seek to provide a more theoretically informed, transnational, and comparative picture of relief and rescue activities that sheds new light on the structures, networks, and relationships that mattered and made a difference. Highlighting the interactions of these local actors with both local state authorities and larger global rescue and relief organizations will, for instance, contribute to a broader understanding of flight and forced migration during the Holocaust. This research, in turn, will enhance our understanding of how the war, violence, and the mass murder of European Jews and Roma has shaped beliefs, narratives, and conceptions of individual and collective agency––and continues to shape them to this day.
We welcome contributions that address specific individuals and organizations, issues of scale, hierarchies and asymmetries of power in different local contexts, and regional and/or urban case studies from a broad range of sites on the margins.
Daily sessions of the workshop will consist of presentations and roundtable discussions led by participants, as well as discussions with Museum staff, and research in the Museum’s collections. The workshop will be conducted in English.
Museum Resources
The Museum’s David M. Rubinstein National Institute for Holocaust Documentation houses an unparalleled repository of Holocaust evidence that documents the fate of victims, survivors, rescuers, liberators, and others. The Museum’s comprehensive collection contains millions of documents, artifacts, photos, films, books, and testimonies. The Museum’s Database of Holocaust Survivor and Victim Names contains records on people persecuted during World War II under the Nazi regime, including Jews and Roma and Sinti. In addition, the Museum possesses the holdings of the International Tracing Service (ITS), which contains more than 200 million digitized pages with information on the fates of 17.5 million people who were subject to incarceration, forced labor, and displacement as a result of World War II. Many of these records have not been examined by scholars, offering unprecedented opportunities to advance the field of Holocaust and genocide studies.
The Museum’s related collections include:
- Numerous Jewish Community records and small to mid-sized collections of letters, memoirs, photos, personal documents, and artifacts from cities such as Algiers (Algeria), Burgas (Bulgaria), Cairo (Egypt), Casablanca (Morocco), Constanța (Romania), Helsinki (Finland), Istanbul (Turkey), Izmir (Turkey), Lisbon (Portugal), Malmö (Sweden), Tangier (Morocco), and Tbilisi (Georgia), among many others
- The institutional records of transnational humanitarian organizations, including bulletins, circulars, and reports, of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, the American Friends Service Committee, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the Emergency Rescue Committee, the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Jewish Agency for Palestine, and the World Jewish Congress
- Collections documenting networks of rescue and relief, such as the Comissão de Assistência aos Judeus Refugiados, the Basler Hilfswerk für Emigrantenkinder, the Emergency Rescue Committee, the Œuvre de secours aux enfants, and the Réseau Marcel, among others
- Personal collections and testimony of individuals involved in rescue operations, such as Menachem Bader, Hélène Cazès-Benatar, Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger,Miriam Davenport Ebel, Wilhelm Filderman, Ernst Fink, Varian Fry, Sadja Grand, Julius Kühl,Raymond Leibovici, Peretz Leshem, Francis Ofner, and Gabriel Chaim Zvi Pappenheim, among many others
- Oral histories of survivors and refugees from, or transiting through, the Balkans; the Caucasus; France, Italy, and Switzerland; Greece, Turkey, and the Levant; the Iberian Peninsula; North Africa; and Scandinavia
Participants will have access to both the Museum’s downtown campus and the David and Fela Shapell Family Collections, Conservation and Research Center in Bowie, MD. To search the Museum's collections, please visit collections.ushmm.org/search.
For further information and to apply, please visit ushmm.org/research-workshops.
Questions should be directed to researchworkshops@ushmm.org.
The Association for Women in Slavic Studies, together with the Slavic Reference Service at the University of Illinois, will be hosting the AWSS biennial conference from June 6–8, 2024 at the University of Illinois Library. The theme for the conference is “Hidden Histories: Reshaping Canons, Reimagining Archives, Making Gender Visible.”
This year’s conference is being held in memory of the late Mary Fleming Zirin, a pioneer in Slavic and East European women’s studies, a founder of AWSS, a fervent supporter of SRS, and a frequent participant in the SRS Summer Research Lab, on the occasion of her 90th birthday.
Those wishing to attend the conference virtually can register here: https://forms.gle/qsGbfGyZm2ND8LgL8
More information about the conference, including the complete program, can be found on the conference website:
Option 1: Culinary Arts Staff, July 7-August 11 or July 7-August 18 - all levels
We are hiring for bakers, cooks, and assistant chefs. Staff will receive a week of training in food preparation specific to the cuisines of the Russian-speaking world and then be responsible for preparing the food under the supervision of the Village Chef. The language of the kitchen is English, but Culinary Arts staff are welcome to participate in the language immersion community when they are not cooking, which, given that it is a residential program, can easily be 4-5 hours/day. Room, board, and transportation from the Minneapolis airport to the program in Bemidji, MN are included, but staff are responsible for their own travel to the Minneapolis airport. Students who need work for the whole summer can indicate availability for one of the languages that runs in June, as well as the Russian village, for a full summer of employment.
Option 2: Counselors, July 7-August 4 - intermediate high+
Counselors teach Russian language and culture in an informal program with extensive mentoring and support; lead "camp"-type activities (canoeing, art, etc.); supervise cabins; and help with activities of daily life, such as site setup, cleaning shared spaces, and a daily shift helping in the kitchen. These positions do not require teaching experience, as we expect to provide these staff with intensive training, a very thorough curriculum, and in-service support. These positions are appropriate for those with abundant energy and a dedication to and background in work with children and teens. Counselor positions require a comfortable command of informal spoken Russian, as counselors are expected to use Russian to communicate both in staff meetings and with campers in all daily life situations. Most successful counselor applicants have spent at least a semester in an immersion context. We anticipate that we will have a particular need for staff with background in dance and art. We are also looking to establish a team with experience across a variety of areas where Russian is commonly spoken. Those from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in Russian language instruction are particularly encouraged to apply.
Option 3: Volunteer Interns, July 7 - August 4, 11, or 18 - all levels
Volunteers will receive a week of orientation, including training in language teaching, camp counseling, and language training specific to their area of volunteer responsibility (e.g. leading gardening activities, working in our camp cafe, etc.) They will then spend part of the day leading activities in their area of volunteer responsibility and the rest of the day assisting regular staff in language classes, and being immersed in Russian language. Room, board, and transportation from the Minneapolis airport to the program in Bemidji, MN are included, but volunteers are responsible for their own travel to the Minneapolis airport. Volunteers should be at least 18yo and have completed a year of college or the equivalent. *interested applicants should email me directly*
Because of the conditions of our J1 Camp Counselor visas and particular requirements for this year’s positions, we are not able to hire new staff for these positions through our J1 Exchange program at this time. Thus, candidates must be eligible for work in the U.S.
Interested candidates can access complete hiring information for the language villages on our website.
As many of you know, we typically also hire a number of high school credit language teachers, who are usually credentialed teachers or graduate students with teaching experience. However, we currently have a much greater number of applicants for those roles than we have positions, so I am not actively recruiting additional applicants for those roles at this time. Should that change, I will send an additional message, but in the meantime, the counselor position could be very helpful experience for graduate students without teaching assistantships in their own institutions, as long as they have U.S. work eligibility.
The Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University is building a database of experienced translators, copy editors, and indexers to assist with publications projects on an as-needed basis.
Apply online at https://huri.harvard.edu/news/call-translators-copy-editors-and-indexers to join our list of potential freelancers. Applicants must submit their resume, a list of relevant experience, and one or two samples of their work at the time of application.
Roles: • Ukrainian to English translators, preferably native English speakers • Copy editors with intimate knowledge of Ukrainian studies • Indexers who have prior experience preparing indices
Questions may be directed to Oleh Kotsyuba, Manager of Publications, at kotsyuba@fas.harvard.edu
About HURI’s publishing program-
Established to fill a void in academic publishing, HURI’s publishing program produces award-winning resources of the highest caliber.
In addition to the journal Harvard Ukrainian Studies, the Institute publishes English translations of early Ukrainian literary monuments and a variety of monographs, including works of research and analysis, and comparative studies.
HURI’s monograph publications are available for purchase through Harvard University Press and Amazon, and Harvard Ukrainian Studies is available directly from the Institute. Contact us to receive a free catalog, or https://huri.harvard.edu/huri-publications
Literature on war in Afghanistan?
We at the University of Pittsburgh are planning an international PEN event that will involve bringing together contemporary creative writers who have written (in English or translated into English) on war in Afghanistan. Although the dominant focus is on the US and Soviet wars, we are potentially interested in the broader late 20th century, including the Saur revolution (the so-called “Communist insurrection”) (1978); the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989); the civil war (1989–92; 1992-96; and 1996-2001), and the US invasion (2001– 2021).
If you happen to know works (authors, titles) that could contribute to this project, I would be grateful if you could send information to me at condee@pitt.edu.
American Councils for International Education is hiring short-term Resident Directors for summer language immersion programs abroad for American high school and college students studying one of 14 critical languages including: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu.
Resident Directors must be proficient in the target language and typically have experience studying, working, or traveling in the host country. They are responsible for promoting student success by ensuring the health and safety of program participants, helping them to maintain a language policy, and assisting them in acclimating to life in the host country. In-country partner institutes are responsible for administering the academic curriculum. Therefore, the Resident Director position is a non-teaching position.
A full list of available Resident Director positions is available at https://www.americancouncils.org/careers
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until positions are filled.
The Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies is pleased to announce its call for applications for funding and awards opportunities in 2023–24.
A primary aim of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies is to foster, develop, and support Ukrainian studies in Canada and internationally. This is done in part by offering or administering post-doctoral fellowships, graduate fellowships (to master’s and doctoral students), and scholarships to undergraduate students. Grants are also awarded to established scholars in order to support research work that leads to publications or the dissemination of results in other forms.
Descriptions of the awards offered are provided on this website. Please familiarize yourself with the terms of the award before applying.
If you represent an institution that wants to advertise our awards, please contact us and indicate which advertisements you would like to receive. Further information on CIUS grants, fellowships, and scholarships can be obtained by contacting us at ciusappl@ualberta.ca.
- Research Grants
- Stasiuk Research Grant for the Study of Indigenous-Ukrainian Relations in Canada
- Scholarships, Fellowships, and Other Awards for Students
- The Kolasky Visiting Research Fellowship
- HREC Educator Award
- Temerty Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Holodomor Studies
- DUSS UAlberta - Disrupted Ukrainian Scholars and Students Initiative
The Russia Program’s Graduate Research Cooperation Project aims to assist graduate students access remote primary sources with the assistance of their peers in Russia. We will help conduct remote archival research, collect data, and arrange polls and interviews in Russia at no cost.
Our major goal is to help graduate students accomplish their dissertations and create an operating network of young professionals across the globe.
An applicant shall be a full time graduate student with a defended dissertation topic, or a postdoctoral researcher, working in the field of Russian or Soviet studies. Each application will be reviewed by a committee of professors from the George Washington University, American University, and Georgetown University. The average wait time for a decision is two weeks.
The Russia Program at GW is a university-based, data-driven analytical center that combines knowledge, technologies, and networks into a research ecosystem. Learn more here for renewing approach.
If you’re seeking an opportunity to volunteer your knowledge of Russian with K-6 elementary students in an enjoyable, low-stakes learning environment, please let me know by this Friday, September 24 by sending an email to martrott@indiana.edu with BRIDGES FOR RUSSIAN in the subject line.
Seeking: undergraduate/graduate Russian language learners with at least 2 years of university-level study as well as heritage and native users of the language
Time commitment: one day a week for one hour October and November (7 weeks), after elementary school lets out (mid/late afternoon)
Your contribution: attend pre-instruction orientation with Bridges coordinators; create simple lesson plans for approximately 35-45 minutes of Russian language introduction for elementary school learners under the guidance of the Bridges coordinators and Russian language advisor; instruct after school program once a week at the local school to which you are assigned; meet with Bridges coordinators for regular feedback and input
Bridges coordinator contribution: provide instruction resources and guidance over the course of the program
Russian language advisor contribution: As needed, vet lesson plans for accuracy of Russian
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for nominations for the Mary Zirin Prize in recognition of an independent
scholar in the field of Slavic Studies. This award of $500 is named for Mary
Zirin, who, working as an independent scholar, produced and encouraged
fundamental works in Slavic/East European Women's Studies, founded the Women
East-West newsletter, and was instrumental in the development of AWSS. The
Zirin Prize is open to scholars of any gender in Slavic, East European and
Eurasian Studies. We particularly encourage applications from those whose
scholarship or service focuses on women's or gender studies and encourages
the nomination of candidates from all career stages. For the purpose of this
award, an independent scholar is defined as a scholar who is not employed at
an institution of higher learning, or who is employed at a university or
college but is not eligible to compete for institutional support for
research (for example, those teaching under short-term contracts or working
in administrative posts). We welcome nominations from Central and Eastern
Europe and from Eurasia.
Nominations must include: (1) a nomination letter, no more than two pages
long, double-spaced; (2) the nominee's updated curriculum vitae; (3) a
sample publication (e.g., article or book chapter). The nomination letter
should describe the scholar's contribution to the field, as well as work in
progress.
Please direct all inquiries and nomination materials to Zirin Prize
Committee Chair, Dr. Vanja Petricevic (vpetricevic@fgcu.edu ) .
Deadline: Nominations (including self-nominations) will be accepted until
September 1, 2024.
for nominations for the Patricia Herlihy Graduate Research Prize, awarded
annually to fund promising graduate-level research (a) in any field of
Slavic/East European/Central Asian studies by a woman or (b) on a topic in
Women's or Gender Studies related to Slavic Studies/East Europe/Central Asia
by a scholar of any gender.
The Prize is supported by a recent endowment established in the name of Dr.
Patricia Herlihy by her colleagues, students, and family. Dr. Herlihy made
incredible contributions to the study of Ukraine and supported and mentored
generations of scholars across disciplines engaged in study on Ukraine and
its neighbors.
Graduate students who are currently enrolled and at any stage of master's or
doctoral level research are eligible. The award carries a cash prize of
$1000 that may be used to support expenses related to completion of a thesis
or dissertation, as well as travel, services, and/or materials. Nominations
and self-nominations are welcome. Recipients must be members of AWSS and, if
not current AWSS members, must join as a condition of the award. Winning
recipients should submit a report on their use of the funds to the Committee
Chair by August of the year following the receipt of the award.
A completed application consists of: (1) a 2-3 page proposal that explains
the project, how the funds will be used, and why this funding is necessary
for continued progress on the project; (2) a current curriculum vitae; (3) a
detailed budget and timeline; (4) two letters of recommendation. Application
materials in MSWord or PDF, letters of recommendation, and any questions
regarding the prize should be sent directly to the Committee Chair:
aorzoff@nmsu.edu.
Deadline: Applications must be complete by September 1, 2024 to be
considered for the award.